He refuses to give up on his dream. Victim of a cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee at the end of February during the victory of the Blues against Scotland (32-21) in the Six Nations Tournament, Anthony Jelonch claims to be ready in time to compete in the World Cup in France (8 September – 28 October). If his season is over after his operation on March 6, the player is thinking about the plan that would allow him to appear in this XV of France.
“I will be ready on August 15. The operation went well, I have no pain, the healing is good, the extension and flexion of my knee are normal, explained this Tuesday the third line of the Toulouse Stadium to The team. You will have to validate the steps one after the other. It will be felt. I will listen to the specialists, but also to my body. Every time I get a green light, I’ll give it my all to validate the next step. »
“The fault of bad luck”
“A lot of players have been there. I have already discussed it with Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri or Antoine Dupont, he explains. They all came back to the top! I trust. I repeat, I will be ready on August 15th. It’s in my head! »
The 26-year-old assures that the staff guaranteed him that he could do without summer preparation to join the list of 33 for the World Cup, unveiled by Fabien Galthié on August 21. Anthony Jelonch will spend a month at the Capbreton rehabilitation center, the same town in the Landes where the Blues will carry out part of the summer rehearsals for the World Cup in France.
The third line also wanted to evacuate the controversy triggered by the words of his father, Jérôme, who wondered about the choice of the tricolor staff to have put his son back on the lawn after a concussion protocol. “I didn’t have a concussion. There is no link. I knelt down hoping that the referee watches the video and sanctions a shoulder strike. I passed the protocol, answered the questions without the slightest fault, underlines the 26-year-old player. I was fit to play again. On the tackle where I hurt myself, my head hits Van der Merwe’s shoulder. Maybe my body slackens for half a second, my knee snaps at that moment. It’s bad luck’s fault. »